Perform git operations in Launchpad

When working with code hosted on Launchpad, you’ll need to perform git operations such as forking and cloning repositories, pushing and pulling changes to and from upstream branches, merging changes into other branches, etc.

Many of these operations are identical to how you may have worked with other codehosting platforms that support git. However, there are some nuances to how some operations are performed in Launchpad.

Prerequisites

To follow this guide, you need:

Clone a repository

You need a repository’s path in Launchpad to clone it. Launchpad repositories have unique paths. To find out more about these, see Launchpad namespaces. You can also modify your .gitconfig file to shorten these paths.

To clone a project’s default repository:

git clone git+ssh://<username>@git.launchpad.net/PROJECT

For example, git clone git+ssh://<username>@git.launchpad.net/lpci clones the Launchpad lpci repository.

You can also clone a specific repository by its full path:

git clone git+ssh://<username>@git.launchpad.net/~OWNER/PROJECT/+git/REPOSITORY

You can also clone read-only repositories over HTTPS without SSH keys:

git clone https://git.launchpad.net/PROJECT

You will be prompted to confirm the SSH fingerprint when you connect over SSH for the first time. Verify the host fingerprint before accepting the connection.

Push a branch

If you own the repository (or are a member of the owning team), you can push branches directly.

Add the repository as a remote, then push your branch:

git remote add origin git+ssh://<username>@git.launchpad.net/~OWNER/PROJECT/+git/REPOSITORY
git push -u origin my-branch

If the repository doesn’t exist yet, pushing into a namespace you can write to creates it automatically. For example, to create a personal repository:

git remote add origin git+ssh://<username>@git.launchpad.net/~<username>/+git/REPOSITORY
git push -u origin main

After a push, Launchpad scans the repository and prints guidelines (visible in the Code tab) that you can use to merge changes from the branch you just pushed to the main branch.

Pull and keep your clone up to date

To bring the latest commits from Launchpad into your current branch:

git pull <remote> <branch>

This is shorthand for fetching new commits from the remote and merging them into your checked-out branch. If your local branch is already set to track an upstream branch, you can simply do a git pull without specifying remote and branch.

If you’d rather review what changed before integrating it, fetch first and then merge or rebase:

git fetch origin
git merge origin/main        # or: git rebase origin/main

Fork a repository

If you want to contribute to a repository that you don’t own, it’s a good idea to first create your own fork that you can push to freely. The fork will be under your account’s namespace.

To fork a repository through the web UI:

  1. Go to the repository’s code page, i.e., https://code.launchpad.net/PROJECT.

  2. Select Fork it to your account.

Launchpad creates your fork at a path under your account, such as ~<username>/PROJECT/+git/PROJECT. On your fork’s page, under Get this repository, you’ll find the exact clone command.

When you push a new branch with changes to your fork, a new link is created that you can follow to open a merge proposal on the upstream repository:

https://code.launchpad.net/~<username>/PROJECT/+git/PROJECT/+ref/<branch>/+register-merge

See create and manage a merge proposal for the full review workflow.

Sync your fork with upstream

Over time, the upstream repository that you forked from may gain new commits. To pull those into your fork, add the upstream repository as a second remote.

  1. On the original repository’s code page, under Get this repository, copy the repository URL, for example git+ssh://<username>@git.launchpad.net/PROJECT.

  2. In your local clone, add it as a remote named upstream:

    git remote add upstream git+ssh://<username>@git.launchpad.net/PROJECT

  3. Fetch and integrate upstream changes into your branch, e.g., main:

    git pull upstream main

  4. Push the refreshed history to your fork (origin) so it stays in sync:

    git push origin main

You now have two remotes: origin (your fork, which you push to) and upstream (the original repository, which you pull from). This is the standard setup for contributing changes over time.

Next steps